WSJ Plans Friday Real Estate

By

William Launder

July 19, 2012 7:51 pm ET

The Wall Street Journal will introduce a weekly real-estate section targeting high-end buyers, one of several investments that the newspaper is considering, at a time when its parent company,
News Corp.,
NWS 0.54%
is preparing to spin off the paper along with other publishing assets.

The 16-page residential real-estate section, to be introduced in late September or early October, will appear in the newspaper's Friday editions nationally and online. The paper plans to hire up to 10 staff members for the section.

"It will be mostly U.S.-focused, but it will have a more global feeling than a local paper's perspective," said
Robert Thomson,
managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, in an interview.

The real-estate section is being introduced ahead of a planned News Corp. spinoff that has increased scrutiny on the publishing unit's financial performance. Last month, News Corp. approved plans to split the media conglomerate into two businesses, separating the entertainment businesses from publishing assets like Dow Jones and Harper Collins.

Mr. Thomson said plans for the real-estate section were in place before News Corp. decided to move forward with its split-up last month.

"This shows real commitment" as the company puts both money and resources into the paper and Dow Jones, Mr. Thomson said. Two additional investments for The Wall Street Journal are also being planned, he said, without providing specifics.

Dow Jones has made other product changes recently, such as ending the print version of SmartMoney. That decision resulted in the elimination of 25 jobs, although Dow Jones plans to add six new positions to help with the expansion of SmartMoney's digital platform.

The real-estate section will include articles on topics such as home finance, distinctive neighborhoods and properties around the world, the company said. It will have a broader focus than the real-estate section of New York Times Co.'s namesake paper, with which it is likely to compete for readers and advertising dollars.

In response, a Times spokeswoman said, "We have a highly regarded Sunday real-estate section that has been successful for many, many years, and we don't expect that to change."

Mr. Thomson said the real-estate section's online platform will include expanded video content and more slide shows of high-end properties, which are already popular features on the Journal's website, WSJ.com. The site will expand on content from The Wall Street Journal's existing network of real-estate coverage; in addition, coverage will appear in local editions, including China.

The Wall Street Journal aims to expand revenue from the section by attracting advertisers from the financial sector, real-estate firms and furniture and home-design companies catering to high-net-worth consumers.

"Hopefully, we will attract advertisers from different asset classes too," said Mr. Thomson, who has helped to expand real-estate coverage at different papers throughout his career.

A name for the section hasn't been disclosed. The paper's daily real-estate page in the Greater New York section, and other real-estate coverage, will remain in place.

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WSJ Plans Friday Real Estate

The Wall Street Journal will introduce a weekly real-estate section targeting high-end buyers, one of several investments that the newspaper is considering, at a time when its parent company, News Corp.